“It’s not the same thing at all,” Eli says, sounding pissed. “You miss Maggie because she would love to be here to share these moments, not because you are still in love with her. Don’t get it twisted.” He puts a hand up to silence me. “I’m not saying you don’t love her. I’m saying you’re notin lovewith her. It’s different. Maggie’s gone, but you’re still here. You have a lot of life left to live, and you, my brother, are in love with another woman. It’s not a bad thing. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
“We’re not talking about me. I’m not the one struggling to move on. What don’t you understand here,brother?” I know I’m being an asshole, but so is he. So, fuck him.
“All right, let’s look at one more set of facts then, shall we?” Eli leans back, empties his beer, then waves for the prospect to bring another. “A woman who is still in love with her deceased husband wouldn’t have been sleeping with or fucking the likes of you for the last few months. And she sure as shit wouldn’t walk by, smirking at you after leaving your office the way she just did.”
I look up to find he’s right. Linzie is smirking. No, she’s fighting back laughter. It dawns on me why.
The Christmas tree with the butt plugs is still in my office.
“Shit.”
Eli smiles. “I’m glad to see I’m getting through.”
“That smile has nothing to do with me. She saw something in my office—a gift she had left for me the other day. That’s not flirting. She’s fucking laughing at me.”
“What gift?”
I rub the back of my neck and debate telling him, but I’m sure if I don’t, he’ll find his way back there and see for himself.
“Apparently, the women went to an adult store in the mall. Linzie was still pretty pissed at me when they were shopping and brought me back a special gift.” I’m shaking my head, looking at the floor. “She bought me a tabletop Christmas tree.”
“What’s so bad about that?”
“The tree is fine. I’m sure what she’s laughing about are the butt plug ornaments and anal bead garland decorating the tree. It came with a nice card too.” I laugh, because it was a pretty funny prank.
Eli is belly laughing now. “What did the card say?”
“Something about being the perfect gift for an asshole.”
Eli loses it. He’s cracking up when Austin comes over with his second beer. Cash and a few of the other guys have made their way over to see what all the commotion is about.
“Oh, shit. That’s good. You need to lock her down, Gabe. She’s fucking perfect for you.”
“What’s going on?” Cash asks. Eli fills everyone in, and I groan as everyone takes their shots. It’s all in good fun, and I can take it, but I’ll be keeping a record too. As President I can payback whenever and however the fuck I want. These assholes tend to forget that.
“If I were you, Pres,” Hawk starts, and I just know he’s going to say some crazy-ass shit. “I’d take her back in the office, spank her ass, and put those ornaments to work. She earned that shit.”
I grab another beer from the passing prospect and sit back, contemplating what Hawk’s just said. It’s not as crazy as I thought. It’s actually a great fucking idea. The wheels in my head are spinning with all the wicked things I could do to Linzie’s ass, making her pay for her little joke.
“He has to decide if he’s man enough to claim her before he can go punishing his naughty little Vixen,” Eli ribs.
“You haven’t claimed Linzie yet?” Jake asks. “I thought that was a done deal.”
“Things got a little complicated,” I answer.
“He means he fucked up when Linzie tried to apologize about their little scuffle when the Feds were here,” Hawk explains. “Sadie told me Pres’s response was bullshit, and he’s gonna have to earn her back. Linzie was hurt and humiliated in front of the club. Women don’t take that shit lightly.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” This is all news to me. Sure, Avery said I fucked up, but she was also drunk when she said it, so I thought maybe she misunderstood the situation. But then, I might’ve misunderstood it because I was distracted by my daughter talking to me about sucking ass.
“Well, Linzie said some shit when the Feds were here, and you dismissed her. That was hard enough for her, but she ate her pride and came to apologize to you in front of everyone.” Hawk shrugs.
“And I accepted her apology.”
Hawk’s face twists. Jake turns and looks to the ground. Declan is scrubbing the back of his neck.
“Does everyone think I fucked up?”
Hawk puts his hands up and shrugs, nodding. It’s Ethan who surprises me with a response. He usually stays out of other people’s relationships, unless it’s ribbing Hawk. “She asked if you could go back to the way things were, and you said okay.”
